In the latest example of the power of Twitter to shame and embarrass so-called celebrities, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and convicted dogfight organizer Michael Vick has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar... dog cookies, that is.

Last Thursday evening (October 4th), Vick tweeted a seemingly innocuous photo of his daughter and himself studying at the kitchen table – she doing her homework, Vick looking over plays on his iPad. Vick captioned the pic “we workin'” and smartly blurred out the image on his iPad screen before sending it to the over 1.5 million followers of his @MikeVick Twitter account.

No harm done and certainly nothing to hide, or was there? Vick must have thought otherwise as he quickly deleted the posted pic and re-posted another (above, right). The new pic was different somehow, with something missing... aha, there it is (or was), in the top right corner. The open box of Milk-Bones had vanished!

Now there's no legal reason why Vick can't own a dog and judging by the puppy-themed cover of his daughter's notebook cover, his kids like dogs.

They probably don't like to eat Milk-Bone biscuits for breakfast, though, so putting 2 and 2 together we can assume someone or something in the Vick household walks like a dog, talks like a dog, eats like a dog and therefore in all likelihood IS a dog. Whew! And, er, that's NOT Vick's new pooch in the title image by the way.

Legal or not, some folks may have a problem with Michael Vick owning a dog or dogs again. While some may say what Vick does now that his parole has ended is his own business, the fact that he's a person of interest, a public figure and a role model – why else would 1.5 million-plus people follow him? - dictates he should take the feelings of others into consideration.

Was it so difficult for Vick to announce he's acquired a dog? Is he not articulate enough to explain his actions while putting forth a positive message on responsibility and rehabilitation? Heck, if Richard Nixon could do it, so can Michael Vick... and not look like a twit in the process. (via Crossing Broad, Yahoo News, ABC News, and Smiley1313)